The current cherry season may be marked by a record production in Extremadura. The Jerte Valley Cooperative Association estimates a production of between 20 and 22 million kilos, around its historical maximum. This group, which brings around 3,500 producers together, accounts for 65% of the cherry production in this region of Caceres. "This may be a record year. Now we can only hope that there are no weather disruptions, like high temperatures or rainfall," points out Emilio Sánchez Serrano, president of the group. Hail had already destroyed the production of about 150 hectares of cherry trees in El Torno and Rebollar a few weeks ago.
This good production contrasts with that achieved in 2016, when the cooperatives only harvested about 12 million kilos. "There were a lot of problems with the setting and the yield was eventually rather scarce," explains Sánchez.
"The production level is very high, in both quantity and quality," agrees Ernesto Agudiez, president of the Association of Municipalities of the Jerte Valley, who points out that after a very dry April, rains in May have allowed the fruit "to grow thicker and healthier." "It could be a very good campaign, with about 35 million kilos [across the valley]," he adds. The latest progress report on acreage and production of the Ministry of Agriculture has once again placed Extremadura as the first region in terms of cherry production in Spain, after having lost this position to Aragon in 2016.
The high production, together with the lower number of seasonal workers arriving this year, has caused a shortage of labour for the harvest. "There are problems because there are not enough people to pick the cherries," points out Agudiez. A situation that is aggravated by the fact that "all the varieties are becoming ripe at the same time, and when the fruit is too ripe, you can no longer take it to the markets. We may be unable to harvest it all and consequently be forced to leave part of the production in the trees," he concludes.
Sánchez also highlighted the "worrisome" market situation, with "disastrous prices at origin, at lower levels than ever before;" a situation which, in his words, is due to the fact that "the markets are 'stuck' with all kinds of fruit, because of the good harvests this year."
Source: elperiodicoextremadura.com
